This invention is directed to a change purse, and more particularly to a change purse incorporating a linkage for mounting a change purse within a hand purse.
In their predominant environment of use, within ladies hand purses, change purses present a long standing need. The presence of a change purse often requires the owner of the hand purse within which it is lodged to place the hand purse down on a working surface, in order to locate and retrieve the change purse. Under more normal conditions, when the change purse comes readily to hand, it is often necessary to transfer the hand purse from the owner's hands to being gripped beneath the arm, while opening up and obtaining the required coinage or other article from within the change purse. In these uncertain times in many urban societies, such hap-hazard handling of ones valuables is tantamount to an invitation to be robbed. At the least, the problems presented in handling a hand purse and a change purse prove often to be both an embarrassment, an annoyance and a great waste of time.
One very early attempt to come to grips with these problems, U.S. Pat. No. 302,071, ROBERT WEINTRAND, issued July 15, 1884, shows a change purse suspended from within a clasp-type ladies hand purse by means of a special support hook.
In SPEAR et al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,111,079, issued May 15, 1938, there is shown a hand purse having a plurality of securing clips slideable across the mouth of the purse in adjustable closing relation therewith. Movement of clips to one end of the purse mouth provided access to the interior thereof. Movement in the opposite, closing direction of a selected one of the closure clips, tended to tension a pull cord, to eject a mirror upwardly out of its pouch, for use by the owner.
In accordance with the present invention a change purse is provided with a suspension device for attaching the change purse within the mouth of a ladies zippered hand purse. The change purse is connected by a suspension device with the hand purse zipper draw for actuation thereby, so that retraction of the zipper draw in a purse opening mode causes the change purse to be oriented into an upward facing substantially level, raised relation within a respective compartment of the hand held purse, to provide one-handed access thereto, the change purse being held in resilient readied relation by the adjacent sides of the hand purse.
The relationship between the length of the suspension device and its point of attachment to the side of the change purse may be such that actuation to a fully operative position can raise the mouth of the change purse above and clear of the mouth of the hand purse.
In addition to facilitating the use of their change purse by an individual, the subject arrangement has certain obvious safety factors associated therewith. Thus, the change purse or its equivalent can carry a key or keys, such as car keys, latch keys etc., whereby delays that can otherwise prove inconvenient, and in certain circumstances even dangerous to the user may be readily avoided.
Furthermore urgent medication and/or notice relating thereto, such as a Medic Alert (TM) label or bracelet can be mounted upon the change purse or its equivalent, so as to come immediately to hand for a person lending necessary assistance to the user of the purse, in an emergency. Similarly a charge or security access card can be safely stowed for rapid access by the user.
Furthermore, the location of the change purse in oriented relation at or adjacent the top of the hand purse compartment, underlying the zipper, can optimize utilization of the lower portion of that compartment, while maintaining the change purse readily accessible in its own location.
In one embodiment, the change purse suspension means includes a hook means securing one end of the subject tilt link to the change purse.
A further embodiment of the tilt link means incorporates a detachable ball secured to the end of the link remote from the change purse, the ball being connected through an aperture in the zipper draw of the hand purse to which the change purse is secured. The ball facilitates trouble free operation of the change purse upon its tilt link.
In yet another embodiment, in addition to its respective fastening means, one tilt link incorporates a braided thong of predetermined length. In an alternative embodiment, a rigid link is utilized.
The presence of miscellaneous contents such as change within the change purse, and the usual location of its point of suspension above the centre of gravity and above the centre of contents of the change purse, assures that in its "parked" condition when the zipper of the hand purse is closed, the change purse will hang in an inclined relation within the compartment of the hand purse.
In use it has been found that the operation of the hand purse/change purse combination does not function as might be expected, and in fact selectively different interactions can be achieved.
Thus, on moving the zipper of the hand purse, having the subject change purse in suspended relation therebeneath, the friction against the sides of the change purse from the adjoining sides of the hand purse compartment walls creates a torque about the point of suspension, which drives the change purse in an upward, turning motion, to present it in the opening mouth of the hand purse, immediately adjacent the user's hand which is operating the hand purse zipper. Thus, it is quite feasible to access the change purse in its raised condition without fully opening the zippered mouth of the hand purse.
The discovery of this frictional drive mode of operation enables the present invention to be utilized with brief cases and other soft sided hand luggage.
Alternatively, the automatic raising up of the change purse or other insert container can be readily "suppressed" by the user, permitting a fairly complete opening of the hand purse without the change purse coming into clear view. Further displacement of the main zipper to the fully open position will then display the change purse in a mechanically raised position, brought about by interaction of the heel of the change purse in abutting relation with the end of the "parent" hand purse.
While the subject arrangement is operative for a range of lengths of the change purse tilt link, for most practical purposes the adoption of a tilt link of about 2 cm (3/4 inch) effective length has proved very useful.